What is the meaning of 'appeal to the eye' in the definition of a design? A book designer prepares a jacket of a hard copy book. Will his work be covered under the Designs Act, 2000 or will it be a subject matter of the

As per Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 design means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device, and does not include any trade mark or property mark (as defined in Section 479 of the Indian Penal Code) or artistic work (as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957). Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 contains a positive requirement for registrability: there must be features which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. Designs apply to nothing but that which the eye can tell entirely. The design will therefore be calculated to attract the attention of the beholder regardless of whether or not it makes a favourable appeal to him. The requirement of appealing to the eye is therefore really a preliminary test of novelty, as compared to the fundamental form of the article". (Amp. v. Utilux (1972) RPC 103, pp 107). Jacket will be covered under Copyright Act, 1957 not under Designs Act, 2000 which is usually a three dimension structure or object with "appeal to the eye".